march2006

The
Comic Book Legal Defense Fund
is a non-profit organization
protecting the First Amendment
rights of the comics community.
Founded in 1986 by legendary
underground cartoonist and publisher,
Denis
Kitchen, the CBLDF's
guiding principle is that comics
deserve the same freedom
of expression accorded film,
literature, and other media.
Thanks to generous support from
comics fans and professionals
alike, the CBLDF
has coordinated and funded the
legal defense of more than a
dozen First Amendment cases.

Comic
Book Legal Defense Fund
volunteer Ray Feighery
talked to CNW
about censorship and the legal
battles over mature-themed comics.
The packed meeting room learned
how the Fund has assisted comic
store owners and employees as
well as publishers and distributors.

"Comics
are an easy target for overzealous
District Attorneys building
up their careers," said
Ray. "They are not always
able to put together a strong
case, so they prolong the legal
process in an attempt to force
defendants to buckle under the
growing legal fees. People have
lost their homes and businesses
in some instances."

To date,
the Fund has spent over $220,000
fighting the Gordon
Lee case. Lee was working
in a comic book store on Halloween,
giving away comic books to costumed
youngsters in Rome, Georgia.
Erroneously packed in the "freebie
bin" was a copy of Alternative
Comics #2 (a leftover from
that year's Free Comic Book
Day) which Lee handed to a nine-year-old
boy. The comic contained, among
others, a story by Nick
Bertozzi about Pablo Picasso
in which the painter is portrayed
in the nude—not in a sexual
manner—in his studio.

Lee was
charged with "distributing
material depicting nudity [and]
distributing obscene material
to a minor." The Fund felt
he had simply made a mistake
as a retailer, and was able
to get
the felonies dismissed and the
prosecution settled for a single
misdemeanor charge.

Ray explained
the facts of the Jesus
Castillo case as another
example. Castillo, a comic shop
employee, was arrested and charged
with two counts of obscenity
for selling adult-themed comic
books to adults.

The Fund
fought the charges with lawyers
and expert testimony. The State
Prosecutor did not offer any
contradictory evidence... however,
his closing argument included
the statement, "I don't
care what type of evidence or
what type of testimony is out
there, use your rationality;
use your common sense. Comic
books, traditionally what we
think of, are for kids. We're
here to get this off the shelf."
Castillo was found guilty, sentenced
to 180 days in jail, a year
probation and a $4,000 fine.
The verdict was appealed all
the way to the Supreme Court,
which denied his petition.

"Unfortunately,
fighting the right battles is
not a guarantee of winning,"
Fund Director Charles
Brownstein said.

Recently
the Fund won a victory against
US Customs when Top
Shelf Comics had a pallet
of comics from Europe detained.
After a three week delay, Top
Shelf received a formal
letter accusing two comic books
in the lot of being "piratical
works."

The accused
stories were Richie
Bush, a parody of Richie
Rich which satirizes the
Bush administration and another
parody featuring Snoopy
and Woodstock.
But they are obviously instances
of parody and fair use, which
are protected by the First Amendment.
So the Fund hired a local attorney
and in the end Customs released
the books and refunded the $250
fee Top Shelf
paid to Customs to challenge
the seizure.

Ray was
a great speaker who inspired
a number of CNW
members to join CBLDF
on the spot.